Pierre Lacroix still has a job with the Avalanche. He retains the somewhat nebulous title of “adviser.” But the events of Friday made it clear: Lacroix has no real power anymore with the Avs, which is as much of a culture shock as it gets for this team.

Lacroix had held supreme positions with the Avs for 18 years, either as general manager or president. His son, Eric, was the vice president of hockey operations as recently as three weeks ago. The Lacroix name was synonymous with Avalanche hockey, almost as much as the “A” logo with the swirling soft-serve ice cream on the front.

The Lacroix reign was famous for many great things, including two Stanley Cups and an NHL-record nine consecutive division championships. He made many great trades — the Patrick Roy and Ray Bourque deals at the top — and always really went for it as a GM. There was no rebuilding plan with Lacroix, and we were all richer as hockey lovers for his involvement with the team.

But the last few years have made it clear: Something had to change. Importantly, I mean that not just because of the results on the ice.

The Avs have always been a media-shy team that never believed much in the marketing of individual players. They got away with that when winning multiple division titles and the occasional Stanley Cup.

But when times got worse, the team became even more encrusted in media indifference and paranoia. Fair or not, the Avs under Lacroix became stereotyped for defensiveness and a tone-deaf demeanor, a hear-no-evil, see-no-evil persona that became something of a self-parody after a while. They weren’t fooling anyone except, it seemed, themselves.

In today’s social media environment, losing teams can’t be closeted away from the world. Scorn from the paying customers and, even worse, indifference, are sure to result. That has happened in Colorado, after an initial love affair that seemed it would never end.

Avs players and employees too often acted as though the slightest not-totally-scripted moment would result in immediate dismissal — and maybe they were right. Lacroix never hid his belief that business decisions of all kind were to be held in strict secrecy, and there is nothing wrong with that. But after a while, especially in the later years, there became something of a Captain Queeg, who-ate-the-strawberries aspect around the team. The tension from that attitude extended to every part of the organization, to the point where everyone always seemed to be looking over his shoulder in fear of anything he said. Lacroix has to accept his share of accountability for that kind of atmosphere.

It was only one day, but Friday’s news conference at the Pepsi Center was a good start toward a more open atmosphere with the Avs. We’ll see how long that lasts. But new man in charge Joe Sakic is not one to shoot off his mouth and was never colorful off the ice. He was never one to hide from the media, always accessible and accountable for his actions.

New team president Josh Kroenke has taken his share of knocks for a seeming lack of interest in the hockey side of the family empire, but his sincerity in professing to want a bigger role with the Avs seemed genuine, and one has always suspected he has wanted to be more open and accessible to fans and media. As he gains more and more power in the organization his father started, that seems a strong likelihood.

Lacroix’s legacy with the Avalanche will always be secure. It was one of excellence, at least while he was involved day to day. But it was time for a change. That was something Lacroix himself said many times when making decisions in his old jobs.

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